1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a supporting means for assisting the movement of a user's arm to facilitate an operation of a mouse.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, computer mouse is carried out such that the mouse is moved on a sponge or rubber pad placed on a desk under a condition that an arm is supported by the desk or is held above the desk. Further a movable base, which is movable in a longitudinal or lateral direction on a plane, may be used so that the mouse is operated with the arm placed on this movable base.
A conventional art of such movable base is shown in FIG. 9, which can be freely moved on a plane. The description will be given below thereto. Rails 100 are first provided in parallel to each other, and movable rails 200 are provided to these rails 100 so as to be movable in a direction indicated by an arrow (a). Further, a movable base 300 is provided to these movable rails 200 so as to be movable in a direction indicated by an arrow (b). In this arrangement, the relative movement of the movable rails 200 in the arrow (a) direction and the relative movement of the movable base 300 in the arrow (b) direction cooperatively causes a horizontal movement of the movable base 300 on the plane (This cooperative movement is referred to as the horizontal movement).
In the conventional example, if the mouse is operated such that an arm operating the mouse is placed on a desk or floated above the desk, fatigue of the arm causes a problem in working efficiency. The use of the support base movable in the longitudinal or lateral direction as shown in FIG. 9 suffers from the problem to be solved mentioned below. When the mouse is moved under a condition that the arm operating the mouse is placed on the movable base during the operation of the personal computer, the movement of the arm needs not only the horizontal movement but also rotational movement around the movable base as its center on the plane. In case this conventional movable base is used to operate the mouse, this movable base, which does not rotate on the plane, makes it difficult to operate the mouse and rather leads to the arm fatigue. Therefore, a problem in working efficiency to be solved is raised.
When the lengths of the rails 100 and the movable rails 200 are, for instance, set substantially equal to each side of the movable base 300 to make the entire size small in FIG. 9, the practical utility lacks since the movable range of the movable base 300 on the plane becomes narrower. In case where the lengths of the rails 100 and the movable rails 200 are set long relative to the movable base 300 as shown in the Figure, the length of the rails is longer than the length of the arm from the elbow to the hand holding the mouse, and hinders the operation of the mouse. Consequently, a problem in working efficiency is caused.
Further, the present invention is not limited to the mouse for personal computer, and may be used in other application relating to a work to be done on a desk while laying an arm thereon such as drafting a drawing, writing a note and the like.